Artist Dates #1 with Jo Scott
Interviewing myself to get the ball rolling!
This is the first of what I hope will be many Artist Dates over the coming months. I have many already in the pipeline, and if you’d like an invitation or have someone in mind, please get in touch.
I am inherently nosey. I like nothing more than hearing about how other artists work, what influences them, their favourite tools, and their workspaces. If you’re reading this, then I expect you are a bit, too. It’s the inspiration behind this series of interviews, I want to hear about all the ways other creatives (I’m including writers, makers, photographers and musicians here) navigate their artistic process.
Let’s dive straight in; I’m answering some questions first to get the ball rolling.
1. Please introduce yourself and your work, including your primary art form and the length of time you’ve been creating.
My name is Jo. I paint dog portraits for private commissions and original artworks in watercolour, acrylics, and digital oils. I also design greeting cards and license my illustration work.
You could say I’ve been creating all my life, certainly since I fell in love with Snoopy as a child. I feel I’ve been drawing ever since. But I’ve been officially earning money from my work since 2010, so that’s about 15 years.
Since we’ve been travelling, I’ve been working much more digitally with Procreate, in my sketchbook, or painting with watercolours. We’re in a motorhome, so working with real oil paints on large canvases is not very practical. (Although I know an Artist who does, and I’m very excited to interview her in an upcoming post)
2. Have particular artists, movements, or cultures influenced your work?
Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts, has had the greatest influence on me. He grabbed my attention when I was 5, and I still enjoy a Snoopy comic strip today.
My dog might not be a Beagle, but she’s black and white!
I think a slight sarcasm and gentle humour have filtered into my work from the combined years of reading Peanuts comic strips.
But Javi Aznarez (illustrator for Wes Anderson, The New Yorker & The Guardian), David Hockney, and Marc Chagall are other influences that immediately spring to mind. There are many more, far too many to mention.
3. Can you describe a typical day when you are working?
Most days whether travelling or not, a typical day starts early, 5.30-6.30 am, with a cup of tea and an hour or two of work, with a dog walk somewhere in the middle.
I work best in the mornings, so I try to get 4-5 hours in every day. I can work on card designs, complex paintings, and anything that needs a deep focus, including writing my newsletters. Plus, if I’ve done some focused work in the morning, I’m happier taking some time out in the afternoons.
After Lunch, we often head out, either for lunch itself, a hike or to explore a new location. I relax and play a bit in my sketchbook or read a book. On a recent trip to Durham, I found myself at the Cathedral sketching musicians having a rehearsal. Time out like this helps with idea generation, so I always have my phone and a little sketchbook with me to jot down ideas.
Often, when we’re on the move, I’ll cook in the motorhome, and for the rest of the evening, I’d like to say I read and sketch, but invariably I end up watching a Netflix series or my recent binge watch which was ‘Slow Horses’, but this winter I’ve cancelled all my plans with the intention of having more creative play in the evenings. I also have a Domestica course addiction, so for the next 3 months, if I feel the desire to watch something, I’ll catch up with those. I’ll let you know how that goes 😂
4. Can you describe your physical workspace or studio environment and how it influences your creative process?
Place and routine can play such an important role in the creative process, so upping sticks and moving constantly shouldn’t work, right? I think this is where my ADHD is useful. I crave constant change, so travel and changing environments are like white noise, helping me focus on important work. I have two workspaces: my motorhome and my Studio in the UK.
The Motorhome
Space can be an issue, so I work more on writing, greeting card design, illustration work, and sketchbook practice when we are traveling; that said, we often stay stationary if we like a place for a week or 6! And I can crack out the canvases and the paints then (we have plenty of storage space for these). I am usually at the table in the motorhome or outside in my gazebo with a big fold-out table. The views can be distracting, and there are times when I suffer from creative overwhelm. There are too many ideas all at once, so I have a notebook where all my ideas go, and I try to work on the ones that feel most pressing first. I always have a personal project on the go.
The Studio
Ironically, space is a bit of an issue here, too. I used to have a huge studio space with a shop front where people could visit and buy, but I found it difficult to get into a decent flow state unless I had someone in to help me, again another distraction that meant nothing got done. Plus, being surrounded by all my work was unhelpful all of the time. My eyes would be dragged to the parts of my paintings I wasn’t so happy with; I go and work on it ‘just for 5 minutes’ when I have an illustration deadline to work on, etc.
Often, we artists think success looks like having a big studio where people can visit and where you can permanently showcase your work. However, for me, downsizing was a relief. With all the additional travel, it was also a necessity, as my budget just wouldn’t quite stretch to employing someone full-time to run the studio in my absences.
I now operate out of a cupboard and made a short video during an open studio event in the Summer. Usually, all the products are packed away and ready for my next show, but this is probably the best it’s looked since I moved in, so enjoy the full tour!
When I am working in my cupboard in the UK, it usually means we are here for a few weeks, and this is the time I open for commissions. From 2018-2019, I managed to keep open for commissions all year; it was easy enough to paint and ship them from either the UK or France to anywhere in the world. But with the onset of Brexit and all the issues of additional customs charges to and from Europe, it just became too problematic. Instead, I turned to time blocking and only opening for commission work once or twice a year. I still ship worldwide, but only from the UK, where I know the relevant charges and regulations.
I prefer working this way. It puts some boundaries in place. Previously, I’d be working on an illustration project, and a new commission request would come in, and it would distract me terribly
Oooh look! There’s something new and shiny over there that I’d rather be working on!
Whereas now I work with a waiting list, I can plan exactly how many paintings I have time for and I can control my schedule. It’s been a learning curve but seems to work fairly smoothly now.
5. Can you walk us through your typical creative process, from idea to finished piece?
I’ve chosen this artwork as it went a bit viral here. This started as a personal project. I’d just finished The Artist’s Way book, and for years, I’ve had quite a few ideas floating around my head that I never seemed to get going with. This was the first illustration I completed after finishing the course.
I had wanted to put together some of the things I loved about London, my love of crime writing, especially Agatha Christie, and a dose of my usual humour which is pretty gentle.
I had already sketched the bus and the theatre for a half-started map project a few years ago (never completed). I scanned these into Procreate then drew the cats directly in Procreate using a set of watercolour and ink specific brushes and adding the background and effects.
It was quite last minute, but I decided to pop it on a Christmas card along with a few other illustrations of the same theme. They all sold out, but the illustration is available as a print here, and I’m adding it to the collection so it will be available again next year (Christmas 2025).
6. How do you balance the demands of creating art with daily life and responsibilities?
Not always very well. I find I’m constantly thinking about, creating, reading/watching, and learning about art. It’s all-consuming. At times, I think if I lived alone on an Island uninterrupted with no visitors, endless art supplies, and just the essentials for living, I’d get by just fine!
But with Mr. Dean, our dog Thomasina, and a new grandchild, I do regularly take breaks. We share the cooking and chores (not with the dog; she’s useless at using the hoover). Mr.Dean looks after all the technical aspects of my business (basically, making sure we have good Wi-Fi wherever we are) and the tech/mechanical business of the motorhome.
We take at least one break a year during which I don’t work. Usually, it’s for Racing the Planet, which Mr Dean runs and I volunteer for. In 2025, we’re going to the race in Greece. We have a list of places we want to visit and hope to start working our way through these in the next few years.
7. What’s next for you, are there any new projects on the horizon?
I’m very excited about 2025. I have a new publishing partner in The Art File and new designs ready for Thortful. I’m currently working through a series of 14 dog paintings to see which ones I’ll make into art prints. I’ll probably bring them all to Crufts with me to see which are most popular.
My focus is on tweaking my business to better suit our travelling lifestyle. I’ll initially work on this newsletter. In January, I’m introducing Zoom calls for my paid subscribers and more of these Artist Date interviews.
I’ll continue developing my digital art practice and finding licensing partners for these new images. Four more are in progress, and I would like to finish them by the end of January.
Next on my easel is a painting for the Down to the Bone exhibition in 2025. I‘ve been invited to exhibit, and I’m working on ideas for it now.
Future Dates for your diary include the following so far
6th - 9th March 2025 - CRUFTS - Hall 2 Stand 120
26th March - 6th April - Down to the Bone 2 Exhibition - The Grange Gallery, Rottingdean
6th July - Edition Dog Live - NAEC, Stoneleigh
This has been fun to write. Do you have any more questions? If there’s something specific you’d like to know, feel free to ask in the comments.
PS The ‘Conversations With My Dog’ collection of paintings are now finished and you can view them here
PPS This interview series was inspired by my visit to The Shed, if you’ve not read that post yet, here it is
I love this! It makes me want to come with you (have you got room for my cats??)
Looking forward to reading more xxx
Amazing ! You have been flexible and adapted as you’ve gone on and don’t sound attached to material things prioritising your creativity which is unusual and inspirational.